More Snow!

Yes, we have about 6 inches (my ruler is buried somewhere in the snow, leftover from the last time...so it's a guess). See some experimental night shots below...

Weather Hawk

Yes - I'm a weather hawk! Julie actually jokes that if I ever leave ministry, I'll become a weatherman. So, for those of you who share my passion, it is Tuesday night, 9;47 PM and I am watching this storm come in. Here's the details...

- Today in B'ham it was VERY windy (over 50 mph)
- We lost power from 2:30 PM until just about 10 minutes ago (9:30 PM) - that is the 7th time we have lost power this year. It's getting old...but we have the routine down. Head-lamps (thanks for the Christmas gifts, family), put the perishables in a cooler and set outside, start a fire, chop some wood, shut all the doors, and hunker down.
- Presently, it is lightly snowing, and at my house, 34 degrees. Note: when we got home this evening, at 8:30, it was 37.5. In 1 hour it has dropped over 3 degrees and still dropping. The snow is not sticking yet...

That's all for now!

Gotta love life...

1) Laptop not working, had to have it completely wiped and re-built...
2) Chimney leaking in storm - we already paid way too much money to have it fixed once...
3) New inkjet printer not printing...
4) Old inkejet printer not printing...
5) Trip to Office Max to buy new ink...still not printing
6) Power went out...again (about the 6th time in the last 2 months)...

Another day in Bellingham...

Leap of Faith

On December 31st, I preached a message on trusting God called "Leap of Faith." Want to listen to it?
1) Click here....this link takes you to the church website.
2) Right click and hit "save target as..." and save it to your computer. It will take a few minutes to download, after which you just double-click the file and listen to it in your audio player.
3) OR just "left-click" and wait a few minutes...you can listen to it without downloading.

Lingering Holiday Images

Our first Christmas Tree at our new house.
The photo of the eagle, while not my best eagle picture (click here), represents a highlight of the holidays for me and for Julie. Growing up, Julie and her Dad took a yearly trip to the Skagit to "Eagle Watch." Apparently, a large number of Eagles return from Alaska to the Skagit Valley every year to feed on the salmon that make their way upstream. So this year, with Julie's parents home from Honduras, we decided to make the trek. Sure enough, there were many eagle's out. I didn't manage to get a great picture, but here's a sample of one.

We also managed to find a great lunch spot on the way home; a BBQ shack right on the side of the road. While not much for atmosphere, (propane heater, peanut shells all over the floor), the food was great and really hit the spot. The day was a highlight for sure!

Mike's Christmas Wish List

My updated list...(2008)

- Bobby McFerrin & Chick Corea dvd, "Rendezvous in New York"

- A Monopod (like these): mainly, one that is light-weight and packable

- Cd's - note: buy them used if at all possible! All I do is burn them on my computer once, and then play them from ipod...so don't buy the new ones. What I want: Keane album (either "Under the Iron Sea" or "Perfect Symmetry" or both), a U2 album - some type of "greatest hits" album, preferably from the 80's and 90's I think (songs like "40," "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," etc - I just don't own any U2 so I want a cd or two with some of their best hits), I'm really into Jack Johnson but I have 3 of his albums already - these are the albums I DO have (Brushfire Fairytales, On & ON, Sleep Through the Static)

- DVD's: The Bourne Trilogy, The Matrix (1st movie only),

- Xbox Games I'm interested in (GET THEM USED): Call of Duty 2, Tiger Woods golf (whatever the last version was they released for the xbox...probably '07 or maybe '08)

- Love gift cards; especially "Taco Lobo," "Starbucks or Woods Coffee," "Robecks," or something new...

- Other ideas: anything from REI, really.

Christmas Images - Have a Very Merry Christmas

Pictures are (from top left): My Gingerbread house, our entry-way (candle display), our new mantle, our new niece (and her mom, my sister-in-law), and a beautiful Christmas boquet

Cast Your Vote

Is the "best picture" of a mushroom, still just a dumb picture of a mushroom? Or is it a great shot? Who knows! What do you think?

Soar like an...UPDATED (click on the flying eagle, get a bigger pic)

This summer Julie and I made it up to Point Roberts. In case you don't know, Point Roberts is this littls spit of land that you have to drive through Canada to get to. At any rate, the Eagle photos are from that trip. The racoon, (bottom), lives in our backyard. We gave him a few names; "Rudy" or "Bandit" or "Racoon." At any rate, haven't seen him around in awhile.

Adrianna

Here she is - Adrianna Nicole Scheid, our new niece born on December 1st.

Click here to see more!